


In the Blink of an Eye

by DreamsOfArkanis



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Star Wars: The Last Jedi Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-15 04:57:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15405465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamsOfArkanis/pseuds/DreamsOfArkanis
Summary: Ultimate victory is at their fingertips.  But everything can change in a matter of moments, leaving the players behind to pick up the shattered remnants.  Holdo's last ditch jump devastated the First Order fleet, but General Hux only finds out just how devastating the blow was upon arriving to the throne room.





	In the Blink of an Eye

**Author's Note:**

> This short story was originally posted as a solo-work on my Twitter RP account @Bow_To_The_1O.  
> It has been rewritten to be presented as a more cohesive story.
> 
> None of the characters present are owned by me, that honor goes to Lucasfilm and Disney.

One must never underestimate just how quickly the tides of battle could turn against you. In mere seconds a series of events could take you from the peak of victory, down to the dark depths of defeat. It was a lesson many had failed to learn over the course of history, and such mistakes could cause empires to crumble.

They had the Resistance on the ropes, their last ship running on fumes as the First Order followed leisurely. Truthfully, the fleet could have overtaken the remaining ship quite easily if they so desired. Armitage, however, had been content to keep the pace and let the Resistance run itself to death. What was the hurry, after all? The New Republic had been reduced to ash at the hands of the ill-fated Starkiller Base. This ship was all that remained of the Galaxy's attempts to stave off the First Order's takeover. The final hurdle to cross before winning the war. Why rush it? The thrill of snuffing out the Resistance once and for all was one he wanted to hold onto for as long as possible. Let them slowly whittle away, every last shred of hope disappearing before their eyes before the First Order finally wiped their wretched existence from the Galaxy. It was what the scum deserved after all the trouble they had caused him.

The feeling had been intoxicating. The General stood at the main viewport, an easy smile settling on his face as he watched the Resistance running itself to it's doom. The First Order fleet followed in the Supremacy's wake, all gathered to witness the death throes of their enemy.  
It brought an immense feeling of pride that the very force he had helped build and maintain was on the cusp of final victory. No one would be calling him weak-willed now.

One desperate maneuver and a flash of light changed -everything-. The same fleet that had been backing the Supremacy so heavily suddenly erupted as several of the ships exploded. Armitage wasn't permitted time to process that, as the deck beneath his feet suddenly lurched and threw him to the ground. Startled yelps filled the air, the General's own pained grunt added to the din. That was going to be quite a bruise later, but that wasn't important. Swiftly, he scrambled back to his feet.

"What is going on?!"  
Sirens began blaring as the various workstations around the bridge lit up with reports.  
"We've been hit!"�"Heavy damage sir!"

Those maniacs had kriffing done it. Mere seconds before the attack had come Armitage had seen the change. The ship had angled it's trajectory towards the Supremacy rather than continuing it's flight of escape. The General had tried to give the orders to shoot down the Resistance ship before it's suicide jump could be attained. Unfortunately he had not been swift enough with his orders and the ship had jumped right through the First Order fleet. The extent of the damage was staggering.

"General Hux, sir, the starboard wing is just…gone! It's been sliced right off!"�"Sir, we are reporting losses throughout the fleet."�"General! What do we do?!"��It was overwhelming. The entire bridge was swiftly diving into chaos as the crew tried desperately to cope with the devastating blow they had been dealt. Armitage knew they needed to get a handle on things -immediately- before the situation grew even worse.

"Seal off any sources of fire IMMEDIATELY. We need to contain it so it doesn't spread further. I want the lot of you to make sure the Supremacy's systems can handle the loss. If so we are to begin taking in survivors from the section cut off. If not, we need to look into evacuating what we can. We cannot allow the Supremacy's resources and research to be completely lost."��Stars, he hoped the Supremacy could limp on in it's current condition. There was far too much of worth within it's walls to lose right now. Bad enough that one wing had been completely removed! With any luck they'd be able to pick up things from the wreckage before it was pulled into a planet's orbit. Crew, equipment, resources, it was a heavy blow. This was something he needed to bring to Supreme Leader Snoke's attention swiftly.

"You have your orders! I am going to alert the Supreme Leader to the situation. Continue on and get this FIXED."

The General moved swiftly from the bridge, leaving behind a crew scrambling to repair their shattered fleet. As he made his way towards the lift that would take him to Snoke's throne room, panic began to seep in. Had that lightspeed jump been angled just a bit different, it would have sliced right through the bridge and command centers of the Supremacy, effectively killing all of the high command. A truly terrifying thought. His steps grew more and more hurried as he passed through the hallways, until finally he reached the lift.

"General Hux I---"�"Get to work saving what you CAN, and get out of my -way-!"

The young officer who had dared to try and stand in his path quickly darted off down the hall. Armitage sneered and moved inside the lift. Once the lift's doors closed behind him, things were strangely silent. The various sounds of alarms and crew scrambling to salvage what they could was immediately silenced, leaving Armitage alone with his anxious thoughts for the long trip to the throne room. The last time he had been in this lift, it had been descending with Supreme Leader Snoke's words ringing in his ears. 'Rabid cur' he had called him, addressing Kylo Ren as the lift doors had closed on the General. Did Snoke know he heard the insult? Of course he likely did. Snoke had probably let the words slip on purpose. It was just like the Supreme Leader to sow seeds of rage within his two lieutenants. The fact drove Armitage to his last nerve. One day, hopefully -soon-, he would take control of the Order out from under both Snoke and Kylo Ren. It was his destiny, after all. Leader Snoke and Ren had both played their parts in bringing the Order to it's full power, but it was not the Order's purpose to be ruled by Force-wielders. When they finally wiped out the last of the Resistance---

Right, the Resistance. The ones who had just rammed their last ship through their fleet and caused mass destruction. Unfortunately his plans of usurping current leadership were simply going to have to wait. Today was just not the day for such things. The tightness constricting in his chest was making it hard to breathe, but he had to soldier on. Appearances were everything. Despite the drastic state he found himself in he had to maintain the image of a collected military official. Weakness was not something to be displayed, ever. -Especially- not before the Supreme Leader. As the lift neared the end of it's journey, Armitage closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breathe to steel his nerves.

"Supreme Leader Snoke!"�The words were flying out of his mouth the moment the lift doors began to open. Coat fluttering behind him, Armitage quickly stormed his way in and over to the throne.

Or at least that had been his intention. However, approximately four and a half steps away from the lift he paused long enough to realize things were very, VERY wrong. Instinctively his hand shifted to ready the blade hidden within his coat sleeve. Panic was welling in his chest once again as he surveyed the chaos left behind in the throne room. However, it seemed nothing was moving within it's walls, except the embers falling all around. 

The General took a deep breath, trying to will away the panic as he surveyed the room.�Supreme Leader Snoke? Dead.  
Praetorian Guards? Dead.  
Ren? On the ground, hopefully dead as well.  
What in KRIFF had happened here?!

As Snoke's regime burned down around him, Armitage struggled to formulate a plan. He had come here to report the attack and receive instruction. This? This was not in any of his wildest plans. Rather, it was a complete unknown. While the elimination of Snoke had been a goal for the future, -this- was not when he had planned for it to occur. Planning was the keyword. He had hoped to have measures in place to make a transition of leadership far easier. During a massive attack on their fleet was not when he wanted to figure this all out.

With that, panic was giving way to growing anger. This? It was an utter disaster! How had someone infiltrated this far within the Supremacy to even make an attack on Snoke?! How had someone taken out all the Praetorian Guards as well? This was ridiculous!��It had to be Ren. It -had- to be. Who else could possibly have accomplished this? No one else had clearance to even get up here. Nobody would know the guards and Supreme Leader Snoke as well as Ren. Well besides Armitage himself, that was. Surely this disaster could all be laid at the Knight's feet.

Armitage had begun to move again, his steps taking him to the throne he so craved to own. Upon it sat their leader. …Well, half of him at least. The other half lay in a heap on the ground. Actually, no, never mind, even as he was observing the bottom half of their former Leader slid to join the rest on the floor. Sanitation was going to have a field day in here. 

His gaze shifted to the crumpled form of Ren on the ground. Despite his original hope that the Knight was already dead, he was fairly certain at this point that he was simply unconscious. Well! There were ways to fix that now weren't there? The initial panic was gone, a quiet rage filling the General as he focused on his hated enemy. 

This kriffing Knight had been interfering with his plans for -years-. Ren had taken every opportunity to rub in his face the supposed superiority of Force-based tactics. He had taunted the General over every little perceived 'failure', never taking into account the countless accomplishments that balanced out the smallest of miscalculations. Armitage simply couldn't deal with it anymore. The fleet was enough of a mess without Ren's interference. Snoke was gone? Fine. It looked like those plans to take the throne would simply have to be moved up to take immediate effect.

A hand slipped into his coat, moving to pull his blaster.  
But in that moment, the Knight suddenly gasped and bolted up from the ground.�Unfortunately, the moment had been lost. Armitage inwardly cursed and tucked his blaster back away. There was that anger again, bristling just beneath the surface as he managed to speak one tersely worded question.

"What -happened-?"


End file.
